5/26/12

Draft Notes 5-26-12 – Sam Selman, Alex Bregman, Richard Stock, Judah Akers

 Sam Selman

Starting pitcher Sam Selman continued the Commodores’ Houdini act of escaping trouble at the SEC Tournament… The Commodores (32-25) extended their season-high winning streak to eight games and ended a seven-game skid against the Gators (41-17) dating to the 2011 regular season. Selman stranded nine runners — five in scoring position — over six innings of shutout work while throwing 120 pitches. He struck out the last batter in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to squander Florida opportunities each time. He struck out Gators’ No. 9 hitter Josh Tobias three times. Selman (9-3) improved to 9-0 in his past 10 outings (eight starts), a remarkable stretch that has seen the left-hander post a miniscule 1.03 ERA.



Alex Bregman: C, Albequerque Academy, 5'11", 185, R/R A tireless worker, Bregman was being heavily scouted before breaking his finger fielding a ground ball early in the 2012 season. Bregman, an LSU signee, played both shortstop and catcher for his high school, though profiles long term behind the dish. He has played mainly infield throughout his career with both Team USA and in school, but many predict that his athleticism and quick release will allow him to stick behind the plate. His bat will play at either position, though positional scarcity at shortstop and catcher make him even more valuable there. A good runner, Bregman ran a 6.82 60 yard dash at Perfect Game and his speed and athleticism show in the field, no matter his position. At the plate, he shows surprising power for a guy his size and squares the ball up consistently. A solid all-around player, even without a defensive home, Bregman presents an interesting profile for Major League teams. The broken finger certainly came at an unfortunate time and makes him a bit of a wild card come draft day, but there may be a few teams still willing to take the risk on Bregman early thanks to his power bat and athleticism.

            Mack projection – Bregman was a 4-5th round pick as a catcher, but has been projected as high as a 3rd rounder as a second baseman. Then, he went down with a relatively minor ijury. I’d say he’s back in the 4th round range.



Nebraska JR C Richard Stock: plus arm; plus raw power; good athlete; has gone from USC to LA Pierce JC to Nebraska; value comes as catcher, so if he is forced to play predominantly first base then he’s in trouble; notes from Stock’s prep days: “has elicited Fred McGriff comps with his setup and swing; in a class of ridiculously hard throwers, Stock’s arm is on the short list of the strongest; gets sloppy behind plate due to overreliance on his pure arm strength; sloth-level speed; unfairly graded down because of struggles of his older brother, Robert”; 6-2, 185 pounds

Mack projection – A definite third day choice. 



JUDAH AKERS -  Belmont … 1B … Jr.  Cookeville, TN … 5-hole … bats: R  Singled and scored to force extra inning in bottom of 9th and then stroked game-winning single in the 15th (despite facing a desperation 5-infielder aliggnment), ending 4-3 marathon game in Atlantic Sun Tournament vs. dangerous 6-seed and host team Stetson (which owns the top RPI of any A-Sun team) … showed his hitting prowess by going with first pitch in bottom of the 9th, sending opposite-field single into right field and ultimately scoring with 2-outs for 3-3 game … added another late-game hit in 13th (2-out single) and then won game in the 15th, with single up the middle to score Drew Turner … second on team with .326 batting avg. (33 RBI, 16 doubles, 3 HR).

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